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“Hmm…”

When I opened my eyes, I felt a tickling sensation.
The reason was simple: her long black hair was resting on the tip of my nose.

“…Ryuko-chan?”
“Yes, good morning, Genji-san.”

When I called out the name associated with that familiar scent, she replied with a familiar smile and a voice I knew well.

…Is this another dream?

Memories not as Argento Vampyr, but as Kuon Genji. I’m reliving them as if chasing after them, as if they were a dream.
The woman in the maid’s uniform who woke me from my dream is Mizushiro Ryuko-chan.
She’s my caretaker, who arrived a few days after I—branded as unfit to be a human by the Kuon clan—was imprisoned in this room. It seems even people who are no longer needed are assigned someone like this.
She has lustrous long black hair and features that make her look younger than her actual age—apparently over twenty—like a teenage girl.
Normally, I’d call her Ryuko-san, but at her express request, I call her with -chan suffix. Or rather, I should say I used to.
Ryuko-chan smiled, her white frills bobbing on her head.

“I always think this, but you’re quite the sleepyhead, aren’t you, Genji-san?”
“Since there’s nothing to do since I’ve been here, I end up sleeping longer than I mean to.”
“……It’s true, there isn’t much entertainment here. Next time, I’ll bring some board games.”
“No, that’s not necessary.”
“Hehe, really? I’ll play with you, you know? …Come on, dinner’s ready, so please wake up.”
“Thank you.”

A conversation from my memories—a past that has already passed.
I already know both the other person’s words and my own replies.

…Why do I keep dreaming about the past?

Ever since I was reincarnated into this other world, I’ve been having dreams about the past over and over again.
As if there were some meaning in retracing those memories, again and again and again.
The “me” in my memory automatically gets out of bed and walks toward the dining table. As a mere spectator, I can do nothing but watch silently.

“I usually make my own meals, you know.”
“If I don’t at least let you do this much, I’ll really have nothing left to do.”
“Oh, is that so?”

Ryuko-chan smiles and urges me, “Come on, help yourself!” so I sit down at the table.
The table was set with Japanese-style dishes like grilled salmon, rice balls, and miso soup.
To be honest, I’m grateful that a meal is served even when I say nothing, so I decided to just accept it graciously.

I sat down at the seat across from her, said “Itadakimasu,” and started eating, and Ryuko-chan sat down across from me as well.
For some reason, she often eats with me.

“Is it good?”
“Yes, very much so.”
“Hehe, Genji-san, your face never changes, so I can’t tell unless I ask.”
“Wow, this is sooo good!”
“Stop changing just your tone of voice without changing your expression! I can’t tell if you’re really happy or not!”
“Is that so? Okay, I’ll do that.”
“Come on, if you’re going to act happy, at least make a smiling face.”

Despite her complaints, the person across from me seemed to be enjoying herself as I continued to eat.
I can cook for myself, but I’m truly grateful when someone makes a meal for me. Especially if it’s delicious.

“A life with three meals a day and an afternoon nap… Is it really okay to live this comfortably?”
“I think you’re probably the only one here who would say that, Genji-san.”
“Is that so?”
“……There are a few other rooms like this one. But you’re the only one who’s managed to stick it out this long.”

Hearing the word “stick it out,” I vaguely began to understand.

The Kuon family, into which I was born, is such a powerful clan that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they hold the entire world in their grasp.
That’s precisely why family members are constantly expected to be perfect; those who fall short are branded as unnecessary and confined. Even I, trapped in this dream, am one of them.
The people brought to this room before me probably couldn’t bear it. Unable to endure the way they were treated, they chose death.

I don’t understand that feeling. To me, it feels natural for things that are no longer needed to be discarded.
We throw away things that are no longer needed or have become obsolete. That’s something everyone does.
So why don’t they consider the possibility that they themselves might “end up that way”?

Neither the me from back then, trapped in that dream, nor the me now—reincarnated as Argento Vampyr—can understand that.

“I’m no longer needed… Is it really that hard to simply accept that?”
“Hard… or rather, I think it’s impossible. That’s precisely why this room exists.”
“This room…?”
“…Cut off from the outside world and deemed unnecessary. It’s more than enough of a place to shatter the human heart of a Kuon—a person who has always been expected to be needed.”

I sort of understand what she means. After all, this room is just too pristine.
When I first came here, not only the furnishings but even the walls, ceiling, and every corner of the floor looked brand-new.
Yet the walls and stairs beyond the iron bars are old, creating a scene where it seems as if only this room itself was newly placed here.
It has a strange atmosphere, as if it were being rebuilt anew every time it’s used, as if it were becoming unusable with each use.
She let out a sigh, and Ryuko-chan continued speaking.

“You break your heart, you break those around you, but even then, you still can’t reach them… and in the end, you break yourself. That’s the path that everyone who’s been locked up here has followed, without exception… until you showed up.”
“……Have you seen this happen a few times, Ryuko-chan?”
“……Yes.”

Her expression clouded over, and Ryuko-chan set down her chopsticks.
Leaving her to her own devices—she’d clearly lost her appetite—the “dream” version of me picked up my chopsticks.
Surprisingly, I seemed to remember the taste quite clearly; even as a mere consciousness, I could sense the flavor of the meal and recall it well enough to think, “This brings back memories.”

“……There are many who are afraid of you. That’s precisely why someone like me, who’s used to it, is here with you.”
“……Are you supposed to be telling me that?”
“I suppose not. But you wouldn’t mind anyway, and we’re not being watched here.”

With a smile that seemed both resigned and relieved, Ryuko-chan laughed.
Back then, I didn’t understand why she was smiling. To be honest, even now, I don’t really know why.
Still, that smile I encountered once more in my dream—strangely enough, it didn’t seem like a bad thing.

“It means you’re a strange person, Genji-san.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, very much so. That’s why… even if you can’t get out of here, I want you to stay alive. Because I, too, am… tired of seeing people break down.”

Her words sounded almost like a prayer, a wish.
What did I, having been given those words, say in response? I know. I remember.
But before the me in the dream could form those words, I came to my senses.

……“It’ll be okay,” I said, didn’t I?

Whether it was beyond my control or simply because it happened while I was asleep, I couldn’t keep the promise I’d made.
I didn’t live a long life; I died all too suddenly.
Leaving behind even the sensation of a tiny needle piercing the depths of my chest, I awoke from the dream.
Someone is calling my name.
The name they’re calling—which one is it?